On the 20 km route between our home and the supermarket (where I do my weekly shopping) are these three dead factories. All have been closed down within the last year or so.
Above was a thriving quarry that produced very high quality builder's Lime. The gate is now closed, the name of the factory blacked out, and the 50 or so men are on the dole.
A little further along the road is this huge Parquet Flooring factory. It has just recently closed leaving over 100 men without work. They all left their names, and how long they'd worked there, hanging on the exterior fence. A very sad sight.
Into the town itself is this sprawling metalwork factory where part of the Statue of Liberty was made. The men are currently out on strike, and it looks as if it will be closing down any minute. The workers are not happy!
Sadly it's these workers who usually vote for a Socialist government, but it's the same old Socialist mismanagement that ends up losing them their jobs.
Francois Hollande's legacy will not be easily forgotten in the Lémance valley.
Extremely sad. And France is one of the showpieces of the Eurozone.
ReplyDeleteI just had an email from "nouvou cro magnon". Turns out it's a foot race through the mountains. Above my mediocre running ability these days, but the scenery is nice.
I shall not be competing either!!
DeleteJust emerging from the other side of cyclone Marcia in Yeppoon we have had our power restored tonight. I hope your son and family fared as well as we did.
ReplyDeleteIt's my daughter who lives in Rocky. She should have power back on by Friday. All 3 of her freezers have their contents ruined, some outdoor damage, and quite a lot of water indoors; otherwise OK. Marcia sounded very nasty.
DeleteThis is sad and odd at the same time. Ultimately, governments are governments. The label: socialist, capitalist, communist, mercantalist does not matter.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure KK. Hollande is certainly out of his depth.
DeleteManufacturing plants are a rare sight to see in the US. Everything can be made cheaper elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteVery sad but not unexpected. I guess my neighbour will have lost his job. There will not be much chance of any other work in the area.
ReplyDeleteOne of our neighbours worked at Marty.... goodness knows what he'll do now.
DeleteHe didn't do too well with Valerie T either. I would like to read her memoir.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have wanted to feel the wrath of the fragrant Valerie, I'm sure Francois quivered too.
DeleteChurchill said it best:
ReplyDelete"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery"
Churchill got to it before me... well said Winnie.
DeleteWhat sad sights …. especially the parquet floor factory with the workers leaving their names. I guess that they will all find it hard to find work, will they Cro ? XXXX
ReplyDeleteAlmost impossible J, unless they do odd jobs; gardening, log splitting, or other dogsbody work. Not a good prospect.
DeleteAs long as governments see business as the enemy closings will continue.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see about these things happening in other countries Cro - at least it makes us realise that it is not just here that is in such a mess.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know why so much of our manufacturing industry has been moved to places like China rather than being done at home. I have bought three things for home delivery in the past month - all were made in China in spite of the supply firms being English.
I'm sorry to say that mostly it can be laid at the feet of the unions. They're always asking for more money, shorter hours, extra holidays, etc. They price themselves out of the market, and others are only too willing to take their place.
DeleteThese were three of the biggest local employers.
I am surprised by that too. Whole cities in America, like Detroit, have fallen to that very thing. What once was a beautiful, thriving city is now a wasteland.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that you had to go that far to do your weekly shop.
ReplyDeleteI could just go 7 kms to my nearby village/town.... but the choice and quality is lacking.
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